Mal Blum Shares See Me

Great pop rock comes few and far between, but it definitely seems like a lot of it has been coming from Mal Blum in the last few months, building anticipation for the release of Pity Boy. It’s a pretty classic formula with verse chorus verse etc, but dammit if this chorus won’t get stuck in your head all day long; I love the infectiousness that begs for a sing-a-long in the live set. The subject matter seems deals with the narrator feeling invisible, which could relate to Mal Blum or not; I’m sure we’ve all felt that way at times, unfortunately. Jus another reason to connect to Pity Boy; it drops Friday via Don Giovanni.

Mal Blum Return with Salt Flats

A few weeks ago Mal Blum released “I Don’t Want To;” it was a pretty insatiable pop number, but that’s not what you’re going to get on this new track. This one is more of a slow burner, building the tension with careful percussion and an almost muted guitar throughout. At the 3:30 mark the tension is finally released with a noisy crash of guitars and pounding drums, but as quickly as it appears, it recedes, slowly grinding the track to a close. Lyrically, it’s not overly verbose, using simplicity to tie in the greater life choices the protagonist has to make through the entirety of the song/record. Look for Pity Boy on July 12th via Don Giovanni.

Mal Blum Share Pity Boy

It seems Don Giovanni has their finger on some of the most energetic pop rock out there; they brought me Bad Moves and now they’re giving us a new LP from Mal Blum, which sounds pretty awesome so far. Lyrically this song seems to be about personal acceptance, on the surface that deals with saying no when you “don’t want to.” Somehow the song seems to operate on deeper levels, but the catchy hooks seem to disguise this behind anthemic delivery and huge pop riffs. I love that serious issues are being woven into the exhilaration of a good pop rock tune; you can think and be deep, yet still have a ball. Look for Pity Boy on July 12th.